University of Wyoming dorms bill stokes old fears about 15th

LARAMIE -- A legislative measure that would start the nine-figure overhaul of the University of Wyoming’s dormitories contains a subsection that’s renewed concerns about a potential closure of 15th Street after the bill was posted Monday to the Legislature’s website.

House Bill 293 would require UW to issue revenue bonds to fund the construction, but it would also appropriate $3.5 million “to provide grants to the city of Laramie to improve traffic efficiency on Ninth Street between Ivinson Avenue and Flint Street and 22nd Street between Grand Avenue and Willett Drive to mitigate any potential impacts created by the restricted access to 15th Street from Ivinson Avenue to Lewis Street necessitated by the construction and implementation of the University of Wyoming student housing project.”

The bill instructs the State Loan and Investment Board to release funding to the city “upon submittal of a proposal and cost estimates by the city for traffic efficiency improvements under this subsection.”

Wyoming House Speaker Steve Harshman, R-Casper, is the sponsor of the bill and has previously shown strong interest in closing 15th Street in certain areas.